1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an enclosure which may be easily assembled and disassembled at any given site and accordingly which is effectively portable in nature such that a grown person can be positioned within the interior of the enclosure in an upstanding position for various purposes such as but not limited to changing clothes, taking a shower, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In modern day society there is usually found an increasing amount of time which may be dedicated to recreational activity. Much of this time is directed to outdoor activities such as but not limited to swimming, sunbathing, camping, hunting, fishing, etc. All of these activities, after they are completed, frequently involve the participants wanting to take showers, change clothes, or the like. However enclosures specifically designed to allow such activities are not normally available except at certain permanently built publicly available sites where large numbers of people congregate.
There is therefore a need in this area for an enclosure or housing type of structure which is portable in nature at least to the extent that it may be easily assembled or disassembled at any given site utilizing a minimal amount of effort on the users part and requiring no exceptional talent, training, tools or auxiliary equipment required to assemble or disassemble such enclosures.
Numerous types of enclosures and or portable shower type housing units are well known in the prior art as evidenced by the following United States patents.
Gatley U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,409 discloses a portable shower bath apparatus which is not necessarily designed for outside use but which is certainly capable of being used in an outdoor location. This device includes a support frame formed of tubing which may be interconnected in its various segments to define an interior which may be enclosed by a drapery, curtain or like structure. This device while applicable is somewhat lightweight in overall design and construction and does require tooling and or a certain amount of expertise in its assembly and disassembly. In addition the tubular components define a frame which is meant to support a water container in an overhead location relative to the interior in which a user or participant may be positioned for showering.
Mustee discloses a free standing shower stall including a base and one or more wall panels used to impart rigidity to the stall. A drain structure is also located in the base and the wall panels are made and joined together by imperforate watertight hinges which permit the panels to be folded upon themselves for shipment when in a stored position and wherein such folding may occur in association with other parts of the stall.
The patent to Sedala U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,310 also is directed to a portable shower stall having a plurality of corner posts and upright wall elements which are removably secured to and supported by such corner posts. The outer or lower most end of the post are designed to engage and be supported on some type of surface and are particularly pointed at the ends thereof to penetrate a ground like area if such is defined as a supporting surface. Hoses, plumbing and like installations including a shower head may be mounted on the interior and communicate with an exterior source through a hose or like structure. The individual wall panels supported by the post may have a plurality of shingle type structures and may be vented to allow air flow through the interior of the stall.
The patents to Westerweller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,720 and Greenleaf, U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,280 are both directed to portable shower stall type structures which are capable of being folded or otherwise disposed into a stored position and carried by some type of facility such as a backpack type of arrangement (Westerweller) or in a separate compact carrying case (Greenleaf). These structures are of course portable in nature and are formed of a plurality of components which are significantly light in weight to the extent that these portable stalls or enclosures may be carried on or by the person with little problem. While such lightweight construction has certain advantages it does not add to the permanency of the structure while allowing the versatility of a knockdown device as is obviously needed in this area.
The above noted devices are considered to be operable and utilitarian for their intended function. However they do not solve the problem of establishing an enclosure or like housing structure which may be used as a shower stall or otherwise used for other activities such as changing clothes and the like whether or not a shower is attached thereto. In such a preferred device a certain permanency or feeling of structural integrity must be conveyed to the users of such a device while at the same time such a device must be capable of being easily assembled and disassembled. In addition a preferred structure of the type set forth herein should also be capable of having auxiliary or supplementary attachments made thereto such as but not limited to tables for supporting various goods and or performing other functions such as eating or the like.